Dedicated to irl homegirl Kristina/Jasthene ♡
— Chapter 27 —
Operation Haruhi and Hikaru's First Date
It felt so odd having to watch Hikaru stare at Haruhi's outfit with a weird look on his face; I was surprised that he didn't seem to think that it was cute. I even felt it necessary to give her a huge hug before she headed out. "Whatever the Hitachiin maids did sure made you look adorable!" I giggled. "Even though I'm not so sure I'd want the same thing done to me."
"Hah, yeah," she laughed nervously. I guess my excitement calmed her a bit, but she still appeared to be a little nervous. "You know, Misuzu said it might rain today."
"You can always come home if you see anything," I said. "You'll be just fine, Haruhi."
It was good that the rest of us were sitting in an enclosed area while watching her and Hikaru interact, or else Tamaki would have started to run towards the two of them. Kaoru had to hold him back.
"What is this?! Why is he acting so indifferently towards her?!" he wailed, waving his arms in the air as Kaoru continued to block him. "Haruhiiiiii!" he cried.
"Boss, they'll see us if you get too close to the window!" Kaoru yelled. "Gah, c'mon! Calm down! You'll blow our cover!"
Tamaki turned around and began to shake Kaoru by his shoulders. "How the heck did Haruhi and Hikaru end up on a date anyway?! I don't understand! How are yesterday's events even related to this?!" he sobbed.
Hani giggled. "Ah, y'know, this just might be Haru-chan's first date!"
"HWAAAAAAA!" Tamaki yelped loudly. "And look at what she's wearing! It's cute; it's so super cute!"
Haruhi and Hikaru began to walk away, and so we stepped outside to keep watch.
We had to tell Tamaki to get a hold of himself. He wasn't as loud, but he kept muttering "No fair, no fair, no fair" repeatedly until Hani whacked him with Usa-chan as hard as he could.
"Be quiet, Tama-chan," he whispered roughly, pressing a finger to his lips as Tamaki began to rub his own back.
"Ah, Boss," Kaoru exhaled, "It's kinda hard for you to understand, but it would be good for Hikaru to find other people he can feel close to."
It was then that the rest of us turned towards Kaoru. He gazed into the distance. "The only people we've ever been able to depend on were ourselves. We didn't care what anyone else thought about us; that's probably how we ended up being so self-centered."
Tamaki raised an eyebrow at him. "So you're admitting it."
"I guess you could say Hikaru's immature; he lets his emotions take over," Kaoru explained. "See, I'm not even really sure he's aware of it, but I can tell that he cares about Haruhi. He just doesn't know how to react, so his emotions run wild.
"He's selfish and wants all of her attention... he wants to be acknowledged by her, but he doesn't quite know how to make that happen. It's kinda the same with you too, Hiroshi," he said, turning towards me.
"If he wants true friends, friends who aren't only toys, he's gotta learn to respect them," he continued. "That's the only way he can have a meaningful relationship. And I think it's about time Hikaru learned that lesson himself."
All of us stared dumbfoundedly for a few split seconds.
"Kaoru, that was amazing," Tamaki said with wide eyes.
"So in other words," Kyouya began, "This date is a test to see if Hikaru is capable of being thoughtful towards others."
"Just promise me you won't interfere, okay?" Kaoru sighed.
Tamaki scratched at the back of his head. "So then why did you ask us to follow you here?"
Kaoru skipped over and ducked swiftly behind a tree. "Because there's no reason for us to miss out on watching something this interesting."
We agreed to split up into groups of two in order to lay low; Kaoru said that walking around in a big group would definitely blow our cover. He was actually so well-prepared for this that it earned him peculiar looks from all of us; the fact that he even brought walkie-talkies was even weirder. "Ah, Kaoru, you didn't have to..." I began.
"They were only a few dollars each, don't worry; they're the kind that short out in a day or so," he explained. "Anyways," he continued, tossing one to each of us. "Hani-senpai to Mori-senpai. I'll go with Boss."
He suddenly turned to wink at me and tossed a walkie-talkie over. "Sushi to pocky," he chuckled lightly.
I rolled my eyes before thanking him for the device, and we were on our way.
Haruhi and Hikaru were heading in the direction of a small outdoor convenience shop, and Kyouya and I were instructed to follow closely behind him. We conversed back and forth with Kaoru through our small handheld devices until we were close enough.
"Hikaru doesn't quite seem to be cooperating so far, does he?" Kyouya asked quietly.
I sighed. "She'll get him to open up somehow. Just give it a little time."
"Hm, you know, I really hope that there aren't any thunderstorms today," I heard Haruhi mutter.
It was as sunny as ever, but naturally, Haruhi grew worried because of Misuzu-chi's prediction.
Hikaru gave her an odd look. "Well gee, I never knew you were so into the weather."
I could see Tamaki on the other side of the store with an angry expression and Kaoru's hand placed on his mouth firmly.
I grunted. "Okay, what..." I began, leaning over to peek out of the rack full of sun hats. "C'mon, now, he's the one who messed up yesterday."
I'd realized that I leaned over too far, and I'd tripped over my own feet. "Gah!" I exclaimed, nearly hitting the ground before Kyouya grabbed a hold of my arm.
He immediately pulled me back. "You've gotta be more careful," he whispered.
"Did you hear something, Haruhi?" Hikaru asked, looking over in our direction.
"Not really," Haruhi shrugged in reply.
We thought we were in the clear as soon as she responded, but Hikaru began to make his way over to where we were standing. Kyouya and I looked at each other in a panic; we needed to think fast. Eyeing what was around us, I came up with the idea to grab a few sun hats and make a run for it. Kyouya's idea involved sun hats as well, but he had something different in mind.
He swiftly grabbed one of the bigger hats and placed it on his head, grabbing my shoulders and cornering me between the rack and the wall. To my dismay, his idea seemed to involve hiding me instead. He placed both of his hands on my lower back and pulled my waist closer so that there was barely any distance between us, and he bent his neck so that his head was tilted downward towards mine.
I gulped. "Kyou—"
"Sh," he muttered quietly, bringing our faces even closer together.
I could already feel my heart beating at a rapid pace.
Hikaru was just about to walk even closer to us, but Haruhi called him over again. "Hey, Hikaru! Come here! Why don't you try some of these pickled yams?"
"A-Ah, be right over," he said, making his way towards Haruhi again.
Kyouya stayed still for ten long seconds.
"Senpai, you can let go now," I muttered almost inaudibly. My fists were still placed firmly on his chest and I was still looking down, embarrassed by the fact that our foreheads remained touching.
"Is the coast clear?" he whispered.
I hesitated for a bit to listen out. Haruhi was already talking to Hikaru about buying souvenirs, and they appeared to be at a safe distance. They began to walk away after a short amount of time. "Coast clear," I said.
Fortunately, he'd finally backed away so that I could breathe again. He sighed, taking his sun hat off and placing it onto my head instead. He eyed my face with a blank stare as I awkwardly stood still. "Something up?" I asked.
He took it back off, took a peek at the price tag, and began to walk in the other direction. "Hey!" I called out. "Where are you going? Wait up!"
"May I purchase this item, sir?" he asked the cashier politely.
"Certainly," the man smiled, "That'll be one-thousand yen, please."
Kyouya smiled politely, handed the cashier a one-thousand yen bill, ripped the price tag off, and placed it back on my head.
"Uh, Senpai, you didn't have to buy this for me; I have sunscreen. How much was that? Ah, I'll pay you back once we're back in Tokyo," I sighed nervously, wondering if I'd be able to do some housework for our neighbors in order to repay him.
"Hiroshi," Kyouya replied, raising an eyebrow at me. "How many times have I told you that a simple 'thank you' would do?"
"B-But Senpai," I stammered, worried that he'd taken money out of his own wallet in attempts to accommodate my needs. "I'm grateful, really! But why'd you buy this for me? I already told you that I have sunscreen..."
"I didn't buy it for you solely because you needed protection from the sun," he sighed, looking over at me once more and fixing his gaze on me for a few more seconds. "And I thought an honor student such as yourself would take a hint."
I didn't bother trying to decode what he was trying to say; this was one of those times where I really didn't feel like trying to figure him out, so I let it go. I gulped and opened my mouth in protest, however, but I shut it once I'd realized that my argument would be of no use; I most certainly wasn't going to be able to make him return it. I settled for a little smile and a slight bow of my head. "Well, thank you, Senpai."
This seemed to bring a slight smile to his face as well. "You're quite welcome," he said. "That wasn't too hard, now was it?"
I shot him a weird look as soon as we stepped out into the sun again, took my hat off, and plopped it right on his head. "You're the one who doesn't have much sunblock on," I said.
He shot a look right back at me and swiftly placed the hat back onto my head. "Oh, I put on plenty," he replied.
A few seconds had passed, and he began to walk in the opposite direction, but I removed my hat speedily again and placed it on the top of his head once more, chuckling to myself and turning around. I wasn't sure what had gotten into me just then; doing this seemed incredibly hilarious for some reason.
He sighed and repeated his previous actions, placing it back onto my head, but I only did the same with him. We repeated this process twice more until the two of us were looking at each other with wide eyes. I couldn't stop myself from letting out a loud snort, and with that, I covered my mouth with both of my hands in embarrassment.
Kyouya merely stood still and awkwardly stared at me for a split second, but the corner of his mouth began to tug up ever so slightly. The other corner of his mouth tugged up even more as he broke into a series of long, loud laughs.
It was contagious; I'd never really seen Kyouya laugh like this before. Despite the fact that it seemed to appeal to me, the oddly ridiculous way he was positioned had me cracking up alongside him for quite a bit.
"Moron," he chuckled, wiping one of his eyes and plopping the sun hat back onto my own head. "I do hope you're aware of the fact that your attempts at an argument don't quite serve a purpose."
"Who are you calling a moron?!" I asked irritably.
Suddenly, we heard Tamaki's voice through the walkie-talkie we were provided with. "Hikaru's still not being cooperative!" he wailed.
"Tamaki-senpai, calm down," we heard Kaoru sigh.
"How could he call himself a host club member?!" Tamaki cried. "I should switch with Hikaru; I'll show her a good time!"
"Quit it!" Kaoru shouted.
Haruhi and Hikaru could be seen from where we were standing, and there was a little old man with a childlike voice and a moustache that was obviously fake. He was headed towards the pair. "Ice cream! Ice cream! Anyone want some ice cream?" he called out.
It didn't take long for us to realize that it was Hani-senpai. Tamaki, Kaoru, Kyouya, and I looked back and forth between each other in a moment of panic until Mori-senpai rushed in, sweeping Hani off of his feet and leaping behind a small stand that was close to us. "Bad idea," Mori said blankly.
Hikaru looked around suspiciously until he'd realized that Haruhi was already at another stand. "Haruhi!" he called out, jogging up to her. "You shouldn't wander off like that, you know."
"I'll take one, please," she smiled at the vendor.
"Coming up right away, miss!"
Haruhi turned back over to Hikaru once the vendor had handed her the ice cream that she ordered, still smiling. "I heard that this place is known for their ice cream," she said. "Here, Hikaru. I'll let you have the first try."
Hikaru hesitated for a few long seconds before leaning towards the cone that Haruhi was holding out. "Fine, but if this sucks, we're playing a penalty game—wuh!" he exclaimed as the vendor pushed him out of the way abruptly.
"What a pretty young lady!" the vendor beamed in a seemingly different tone of voice. "Here's another one for you, on the house!"
"Ah, thank you, Sir!" Haruhi smiled, taking the extra ice cream from him.
"Uh, she didn't... she didn't even recognize him," I gulped. "That's freakin' Tamaki-senpai with the old vendor's clothes on!" I whispered roughly.
"Well, it would be considered indirect kissing if they'd shared the ice cream; I can see why Tamaki would be so worked up over such a thing."
"Hey," Haruhi began, "Can we stop by that little shop we were at earlier? We should get a few bags of those pickled yams."
Hikaru's face was distorted in confusion. "Haruhi, you're not supposed to buy souvenirs until the end of your trip; aren't you and Hiroshi staying here for a little while longer?"
"Oh, well they'd just be a gift for Kaoru."
"Huh? I don't get it," Hikaru said with a curious tone of voice. "How can you tell that I'm upset about Kaoru?"
"I just can," Haruhi replied casually. "Well, c'mon, let's try to get to them before they run out."
The two of them seemed to be enjoying themselves for quite a while after that. They visited nearly every shop and managed to find at least one interesting item or product in each of them. It was a little exhausting to have to run after them, but I was happy to see that the two of them appeared to be content.
We decided not to be too intrusive any longer and headed back to the inn since things were going fairly well. We needed to stop for some water and a home-cooked meal, anyways. The sky looked slightly less sunny at that point in time, but I wasn't too worried about it; I figured that Hikaru would be able to bring Haruhi back home safely in case a storm appeared to be coming.
However, as the evening wore on, darker clouds began to move in and the sunshine had disappeared altogether. I wouldn't leave the window; I kept looking out and hoping that things would clear up. To my dismay, the weather didn't seem to let up, and the light drizzle had transformed into a relentless downpour of rain. I couldn't quit biting my lip and moving around uncomfortably in my chair. I hoped that Hikaru would at least come home with Haruhi soon.
Tamaki, the only other person in the room who seemed to know about Haruhi's fear of thunderstorms, paced around the room nervously. He had such a worrisome expression on his face that it only made me grow more anxious by the minute.
The phone began to ring loudly, and Misuzu picked it up immediately. "Oh, Arai?" he asked. "Wasn't expecting to hear from you. Ah, what's this? Haruhi and Hikaru?"
It was then that Tamaki and I snapped our heads towards him as he spoke. "Hm, mhm, I see," he replied. "Yes, I understand. Thank you. Hikaru should have his cell phone with him, so we'll try giving him a call. Goodbye, now."
Tamaki rushed over to Misuzu immediately after he'd hung up. "What's going on?" he asked as I rushed over as well.
Misuzu turned towards us. "Evidently, Hikaru left Haruhi in front of the produce shop and decided he'd head back on his own."
"What?" the rest of us breathed out gravely.
"Arai said that Haruhi ran after Hikaru in attempts to find him once the downpour started, and he just wanted to make sure that the two of them got home okay."
"I'm calling right now," Tamaki said with a sense of urgency in his voice as he began to dial Hikaru's number. He put it on speaker so that we'd be able to hear him.
The ringing stopped after a few seconds. "Oh, hey, Boss, you've got great timing," Hikaru said on the other line.
My heart skipped a beat. "Is Haruhi with you? Where is she?" I asked right away.
He completely disregarded my question. "Think you could get a taxi to come and get me? I haven't had any luck hailing one."
Tamaki's expression transformed from concerned to furious. "You idiot!" he shouted. "I want you turn around and start looking for Haruhi right now! What kind of jerk would leave a girl out in a thunderstorm like this by herself?!"
There was no response on the other end. Hikaru must have been shocked at the tone that Tamaki had taken.
"Now you listen to me," Tamaki continued angrily, "Haruhi is terrified of thunder; whenever she hears the sound if it, she gets so scared that she can't even move! Why don't you spend less time concentrating on your jealousy and worry about someone else for once!"
My heart skipped a beat once again, and I stood up abruptly and ran towards the front entrance as soon as Tamaki flipped his phone shut. I was too shocked to even realize that I wasbeing drenched while I stood out in the rain. I looked around frantically in a panic and began to run in the direction of the outdoor shopping center where we'd been earlier.
"Hiroshi!" I heard a voice call out from behind me.
I could barely see a thing through all of the mist and the continuous downpour of rain, and before I knew it, I'd tripped over my own feet for the second time in the day. I needed to make sure that Haruhi was okay. I wanted to know that she wasn't by herself.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned. "K-Kyouya-senpai," I barely managed to stammer, shivering in the cold as the rain continued to fall.
"You're going to catch a cold out here like this," he said sternly, trying to pull me up.
"I have to look," I pleaded. "Senpai, what if Haruhi—"
"Hikaru's already searching for her, I'm sure; Hiroshi, there's no reason for you to do this to yourself."
I looked up at him in pain. My ankle felt as though it had been sprained, but I tried to back away and limp on the other foot so that he wouldn't feel obligated. "I'll go back, I'll go back," I repeated. "Could you please just go ahead?" I asked, trying to wave him away.
Kyouya only continued to look at me in the midst of my helpless attempt to look like I was able to walk naturally, and I fell once again. He didn't hesitate a moment longer and lifted me up so that I was curled up against him with my forehead rested on his neck, and he made a dash for the inn as the rain continued to pour.
* * *
My vision was a little blurry once I opened my eyes. I hadn't been asleep for too long; it still seemed to be dark and rainy outside. I was back in my room, however.
I felt a slight ruffling sensation on my head; someone had been trying to dry my hair for me. Once my vision cleared up, I was able to make out a pair of dark eyes and damp, jet-black hair. It was Kyouya-senpai, all right, except he wasn't wearing his glasses.
"Senpai," I muttered groggily, "Don't worry; I can do this myself."
"Just relax," he replied quietly.
It was then that I realized he should have been even more tired from having to carry me. My eyes widened and I sat up immediately. "Gah, I'm so sorry! I could have managed, you know."
"You had a sprained ankle," he yawned, raising an eyebrow at me.
I noticed that my left ankle had already been wrapped in a bandage with one of those soft ice packs compressed to it. I opened my mouth to say something again, but Kyouya slowly lifted his hand and pressed his finger to my lips. "You can thank me by allowing me to sleep," he said.
"On the bed?" I asked, carefully trying to get up and lean on the edge of the mattress. He'd changed into a pair of dry, clean clothes beforehand, so I didn't really mind giving my bed up to let him lie down.
He climbed in and began to snooze immediately, and so I merely took a seat in the chair that he'd been sitting in while drying my hair. After snoring faintly for a few minutes, he changed his position, now facing me as he slept almost silently. I lied my crossed arms on the edge of the bed and rested my head on them to get a closer look at Kyouya's features; this was the first time I'd seen him without glasses up close. He looked even more stoic than he had before.
His black bangs fell over his forehead, and his breathing pattern was steady, so I assumed he'd been sleeping peacefully. It didn't come as much of a surprise to me that someone like him even slept gracefully.
I'm not quite sure what had gotten into me just then, but, as slowly and cautiously and I possibly could, I reached my hand out towards his head and began to gently run my fingers through his hair. I sighed. "I'm gonna pay you back for that hat, you know," I said almost inaudibly, as though he could hear me.
His eyes opened just slightly, and it was then that I pulled my hand away quickly; I'd remembered that he was always in a horrible mood when he woke up. However, he didn't react as bitterly as I believed he would have.
"Mhh," he muttered groggily, taking my hand in his and placing it back onto the side of his head and nearly forcing me to have my face close to his again. "Don't..."
"Don't what?" I asked quietly.
"Hiroshi," he murmured nearly inaudibly. "Don't stop; it felt nice."
My eyes widened and I could feel my face heating up rapidly; I didn't move much for the next few seconds. Just the way that he looked at me and his tone of voice seemed to have made my heart jump.
I then continued to run my fingers slowly through his hair, but he kept his eyes open. I wasn't too focused on them since I was more concentrated on not messing up his part too much, but he stopped me yet again. He slowly reached up to cup his hand to the side of my face, and it was then that I was forced to look directly into his eyes.
He had such a dazed expression on his face as he stared into my eyes that my heart began to jump again. This weird sensation that I couldn't seem to ignore had taken over; it felt like a form of anxiousness combined with tranquility, emotions that were polar opposites.
To my surprise, I could have sworn that, beyond the graceful expression that Kyouya wore even when sleepy, his cheeks had a little more color to them. The longer we looked at each other, the more his gaze deepened. His hand remained on my cheek, and he began to slowly and gently move his thumb on the surface of my skin.
"Kyouya-senpai," I muttered quietly.
The gesture was so relaxing that my eyes began to close, and it wasn't long before I drifted off.
* * *
Sunlight poured through my window, and I woke up to find myself lying on my bed again. Suddenly, I remembered that I hadn't found out if Haruhi and Hikaru had come home safely yet, and so I stood up cautiously. I hoped that Kyouya had found a comfortable place to stay for the night; I remembered him telling me a while ago that each of their families owned a small cottage in the area.
Luckily, my ankle didn't hurt nearly as much, and I was able to get dressed and freshen up without much trouble walking. Opening the door, I saw Kyouya and Kaoru leaning over the railing side by side, and I rushed over beside the two of them to lean over as well.
"Well look who finally decided to wake up," Kaoru chuckled. "Haruhi and Hikaru came in a little late last night."
"So they're here?" I asked.
"Oh, hi, Hiroshi!" I heard Haruhi call out from below. She was standing near the front entrance with Misuzu-chi and the majority of the rest of the hosts.
I did my best to walk down the steps without straining my ankle too much. "Gah, I was worried!" I exclaimed as we embraced each other.
"What happened to your ankle?" she asked, looking down with a highly concerned expression on her face.
"Ah, don't worry about it."
She sighed and bent down. "No fooling me, Hiroshi."
"I'm all right."
Seeing through my little act, as she's always been able to, Haruhi merely pushed one of the chairs so close to me that I was practically forced to sit. "I got a bag of pickled yams for you, too," she smiled cheekily. "Hopefully you'll like them! They sure were delicious to me."
"Gyaaaaa, Haruhi! So cute!" Tamaki squealed. He was at it yet again. "Would you mind smiling like that for Daddy one more time? Just once?" he asked, making an attempt to sweep her off of the ground.
"Get off, Senpai!" she exclaimed irritably.
The door creaked open, and Arai walked in with the same friendly smile he had on his face the day before. "Hey, what's up?" he asked.
"Hey! Good morning, Arai," I smiled.
"So, I got you guys some watermelon; my uncle's got the best in town!"
Hani-senpai rushed over, beaming. "Wah, that's huge!" he exclaimed.
"That's certainly an impressive melon, Arai," Tamaki laughed.
The room suddenly became quiet again once we heard footsteps; Hikaru had walked in. Everyone could feel a bit of tension as he walked up to Arai with a blank stare, and the two of them faced each other, standing still for a little while.
Hikaru's mouth tugged up into a charismatic smile, as did Arai's. "Here you go," Arai said with a cheery tone of voice, handing the melon over.
"Thanks a lot, Arai," Hikaru replied with the same friendly expression.
I looked back up at Kyouya and Kaoru, who, strangely enough, were already staring at me with smiles on their faces. I raised an eyebrow at them suspiciously. "Get down here, guys!" I laughed.
"Yeah, it's time for some melon!" Tamaki beamed.
With that, all of us gathered around the table and continued to crack up about more stories from Arai about middle school.
From something as unexpected as a wedding in Spain to a somewhat adventurous vacation in Karuizawa, I'd actually been enjoying it. Maybe the fact that they paid me and Haruhi a visit didn't bother me so much anymore. My first summer with the hosts was actually turning out to be pretty eventful. Nonetheless, it was certainly a summer that was so different that I knew would always be etched in my memory.